The Horror of the Feral Child

Posted: 4/11/08 at 1:42pm

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/2112gchild.html

Can you even imagine? I am stunned as to the conditions in which Genie lived. It absolutely breaks my heart.



Try this link; the article isn't as good, but its the same story.
Updated On: 4/11/08 at 01:42 PM

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 1:45pm

Your link doesn't go anywhere.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 1:49pm

What brought this up?

Fascinating story, and heartbreaking.

Posted: 4/11/08 at 1:49pm

Oops! I tried a different one.


Husk: I'm playing Rapunzel in INTO THE WOODS right now, and StageManager2 and I were discussing how she's almost feral, living in a tower for 14 years. Stahey brough this story to my attention, and I though it was fascinating and horrible. I wanted to share. Updated On: 4/11/08 at 01:49 PM

[xoangel2789xo]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 2:15pm

We read about her in sociology.

Very sad =(

[StageManager2]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 2:19pm

Here's the Nova special on YouTube.

Genie: The Wild Child Part 1
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4I5mZIFxSlk

Genie: The Wild Child Part 2
http://youtube.com/watch?v=sdyKYwH5yJk&feature=related

Genie: The Wild Child Part 3
http://youtube.com/watch?v=XX-HH7ufJio&feature=related

Genie: The Wild Child Part 4
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3Qk_HwbEKl4&feature=related

Genie: The Wild Child Part 5
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YyS2ofyQw8M&feature=related

Genie: The Wild Child Part 6
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Mh6FFOXqVJA&feature=related

Posted: 4/11/08 at 2:56pm

Thanks, Stagey. How dreadful.

[Mamie]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 3:00pm

They started the special with the opening chords of the "To Kill a Mockingbird" theme. My heart was lost before I even saw her sad story!

I've got to say that those well-meaning specialists angered me more than I can say. Deciding to play the role of parent but ONLY during the course of the research was as cruel as the life she'd led before they found her. That child, that HUMAN, needed security and support from people who loved her. They deserted her when she was no longer valuable for research and that was absolutely terrible.

Updated On: 4/11/08 at 03:00 PM

[StageManager2]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 3:05pm

I was wondering what that music was, Mamie. Thanks! It makes sense. There's a movie based on this case called MOCKINGBIRD DON'T SING.

Posted: 4/11/08 at 3:09pm

I agree, Mamie. Its tragic. She's a human being, not some test subject. What she needed was guidance and love and hope. The tests were pointless, and unnecessary to her own well being.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 8:36pm

Mamie yes! I was extremely upset with the researchers and feel very much that they are just as guilty of child abuse as the Father who killed himself! Once the grant money ran out and interest in the child faded we saw the real faces of the so called "I loved her like my own child" researchers!

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 9:24pm

For any of you reading this... you must see Francois Truffaut's brilliant movie from the '70s called "The Wild Child."

I saw it as a child, and it has stayed with me ever since.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 10:01pm

Her mother put her back into foster care and THEN sued the doctors? So, what, the money could go towards HER OWN "emotional distress" while her impaired daughter is being shuffled around as a ward of the state?! Ugh. They should have arrested her for child abuse all over again.

[singingwendy]

Posted: 4/12/08 at 12:46pm

Exactly my thoughts Orangeskittles. I was shocked that she was allowed to go back to her mother in the first place, but then that the mother used her to sue the doctors? Just despicable. I am just hoping that the settlement money is being used to support her now in the adult living facility they talked about.

I think the researcher at the end made a very good point about this being such a unique case that mistakes were bound to happen. Here you had a chance to research something you never could nor ever would set up as an experiment. And yet, you had to consider that this was a young girl and what was best for her well being. It was sad that they couldn't find someone to be a more permanent foster parent for her, and I feel, even sadder that she was eventually sent back to her mother.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 12:16am

This is also interesting:
http://www.feralchildren.com/en/index.php